Being on vacation and in a city that is not my own has taught me a lot about how real estate agents market their listings and what works for me as a buyer. Calm down, I'm not purchasing but I am the public since I am not an agent. How do you make sure buyers can find you and your listings? Yard signs? Homes & Lifestyles ads? Those are good but you need to start thinking like someone who has never been to your area. Think like a foreigner. Use your vacation this year to get that feeling and try to figure out what you would do as a consumer to search for real estate. I've driven along I-80 in Salt Lake City and have seen huge banners strung across homes saying 'For Sale'. There's a phone number below it. But see, the problem is that I AM DRIVING 70MPH and can't really write down a phone number!! I drive by a listing and see a brokerage sign. Again, a phone number. Too many numbers. I pass on because I AM DRIVING! So, I go to my trusted friend, my computer, and do a Google search for 'Salt Lake City real estate'. I assume this is what a lot of buyers do, too. I picked the 2nd listing because it had the word 'Best' in the title. I did all of this without thinking about why I did it. I was not in analytical mode. I was in consumer mode. Here's what I want as a consumer. I want web addresses! I want an email address! I want simple and quick ways to get information on a listing on my own time, not during business hours. I'd like a website that's easy to remember and maybe a code to get me to the listing I just passed. Not a long 5 digit code but something I can remember without having to write it down. ListingDomains.com is one way to get me, the consumer, a short & simple way to access a listing's information and your webpage. Another way is through Point2. Create a professional account and create a unique domain for each of your listings.
No, I may not be buying immediately but you need to capture the buyers when they are non-committal mode. Turn them into buyers. It may take months but get them to your website and keep them there with a home search. Grab them while they still don't have a REALTOR. While you are on vacation this year, use the opportunity to think like a foreigner. Think like someone who knows nothing about real estate. Most importantly, think like someone who is driving 70mph.
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great advise! i have a VA in Florida - glancing at your profile, you sound very much a like. happy 4th.